Disney+, a new streaming service featuring Disney’s wide library of movies, shows and exclusive original content, will be released on Nov 12 in the US.
Along with many other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Apple TV, Disney+ is a platform of hundreds of exclusive movies and tv shows. According to Disney, it will have “nearly every movie in Disney’s expansive library, including a number of previously hard-to-find animated features and live-action Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-offs.”
Disney+ will start at $7 per month, or $70 per year, which is cheaper than most of its competitors: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. The most expensive, Netflix, starts at $9 per month, Amazon Prime starts at $8 per month and Hulu starts at $6 per month. Disney+ says it will have unlimited downloads, 4k video quality and four devices simultaneous streaming, a feature that costs $16 per month on Netflix.
At the expected 7,000 episodes and up to 500 movies, Disney+ will only have 16 percent of the content Netflix has. However, Disney is only providing this exclusive content, including Disney originals, through their app in order to draw subscribers. Additionally, Disney+ will only have up to PG-13 rated content, no R-rated movies in order to be more kid-friendly.
The new Disney+ streaming service may be intended for children, but adults could enjoy it too.
The release of Disney+ may not bode well for Netflix either. In the past couple of years, Netflix, the world’s most popular streaming service, started pulling shows and movies off in order to put them on Disney+. The two companies previously had a licensing deal which Disney failed to renew as it planned its own streaming service.
The crowded streaming market seems to be hurting the giant, as Netflix had its first major loss of US subscribers in the company’s history. In projections, Disney+ is expected to have 160 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2020, more than Netflix’s current 139 million.
Students are, for the most part, excited about the new streaming platform. Junior Macey McKinnon said, “I would honestly give up Netflix for the new Disney app because I love Marvel movies and would be very excited to have them all in one place.”
Senior Gena German is anticipating Disney+’s release for a different reason: “Netflix is so expensive and they do not release new movies often.” Disney+ reportedly is supposed to release new movies weekly, instead of entire seasons at a time, like on Netflix.
German also commented on the nostalgia that Disney movies bring back for high schoolers. “I think kids at the school would be interested in it because those movies are what we were raised on, so they are pretty much our classics.”
